ESG Review

We take that responsibility very seriously and in December 2021, we launched an ESG strategy which sets out a clear roadmap for what we want to achieve in terms of our environmental and social impacts and our governance. This strategy, which is available on our website was developed following an independent stakeholder review and preparation of a materiality assessment to understand and prioritise our ESG issues. We have embedded this ESG strategy into our corporate strategy and, by extension, into everything that we do.

It details how we will manage and reduce our own carbon footprint, help our customers to decarbonise their fleets, and promote industry collaboration on climate issues. It also sets out how we will continue to have a positive social impact within the communities in which we operate and how we will continue to make progress on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (“EDI”). In addition, it ensures that ESG is incorporated into our best practice corporate governance framework.

Carbon offsetting

Recognising that aviation is currently one of the hardest to abate sectors, we are committed to delivering a range of practical initiatives to assist in the transition to a more sustainable aviation industry. SMBC Aviation Capital supports The International Civil Aviation Organization’s (“ICAO”) carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation (“CORSIA”) as a near-term solution to the climate impact of the aviation industry. The scheme is designed to cap net emissions (emissions less offsets) for international flights at 85% of 2019 levels. To assist our customers to meet these obligations, we have committed to a 10-year carbon credit programme which involves entering into offtake agreements for carbon credits in a number of energy efficient cookstove projects across South-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America.

We are also funding our own greenfield cookstove project in Burkina Faso in West Africa which will have deep social as well as environmental impacts. The project will supply 28,000 families with new cookstoves which use 50% less wood. These new stoves will reduce the harmful effects of open fire cooking, while also freeing up time for women and children to concentrate on other elements of their lives such as education.

Our involvement with these projects goes beyond financial support. Members of our team, including our Chief Operations & Sustainability Officer, have visited our projects to gain an understanding of what it means both to the people involved and to the environment. The knowledge gained from these visits and other interactions will assist us in our future actions.

A suite of initiatives

Carbon credits represent just one of our efforts. We are also determined to support the more widespread adoption of SAF and in particular future innovations that will help scale up production and increase supply in the coming years. These fuels can be used to power existing aircraft without extensive modifications resulting in the reduction of net carbon emissions. It is hoped by many airlines that they can reach 10% SAF usage by 2030. However, SAF is still in its infancy, costly to produce and current supply meets less than one per cent of global aviation demand, so significant scaling up of production is required.

Developing practical solutions to help accelerate SAF adoption is just one area of focus of our innovation hub, The Nest. The team are building knowledge and forging partnerships which will accelerate the development of new technologies and products to accelerate decarbonisation in our industry.

We are also fortunate to have supportive shareholders who are committed to investing in the evolving green energy space. Working together, we believe we can achieve our ambitions in this area.

In addition, our new headquarters office at 28 Fitzwilliam in Dublin has been designed to be as sustainable as possible and we are seeking a LEED 4.1 sustainable building standard rating.